Garment with a floating hem line



June 28, 1960 A. OVIGYAN GARMENT WITH A FLOATING HEM LINE! Filed May `28, 1958 INVENToR. 6621666@ a'g/czz? srrceg l 2,942,272 A d ,A GARMENT vmHAFLoATnsG HEM Angelic Ovigyan, Chicago, Ill. (8000 W. Main St., Belleville, lll.)

Filed May 2s, 195s, ser. No. 138,441 2 Claims. (Cl. z -74) and skirt portions. The bodice portion hasneck and arm openings. The skirt portion is substantially longer than the standard unfi-tted skirt length prescribed by tallors and has an end opening. The skirt portion is normally of length somewhat in excess of the distance between the Waist of the wearer and the feet.

To achieve the correct hem line for the wearer, the open end of the skirt is inwardly intussuscepted, 'that is, folded up and under the skirt and terminates 1n the region of the waist of the dress. The length of therskirt is adjusted by ing more, or less of its length under the belt or girdle of the wearer. Alternatively, the open end of the skirt may be provided with an elastic band which tits around the wearers waist. Garments embodying the oating hem line feature of the present invention can be manufactured at uniform overall lengths and then be fitted to the height of the wearer and the desired hem line without spending long periods of time adjusting and stitching. Also, the garment need not be pressed after washing but merely'hung up to allow the wrinkles to fall out.

With this construction a variety of changes of dress styles may easily be accomplished. Some of these styles include drape, sack, jumper, sheath, two-piece look all of which may be adapted from the basic tubular garment.

Itis therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a garment having a nating hem line for wearers of varying height and to accorrunodate style changes. Y

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a garment having a iioating hem line which is achieved by inwardlyrintussuscepting the open -end of the skirt and removably terminating same in the region of the waist of the wearer.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a unitary tubular garment having a floating hem line which is achieved by inwardly intussuscepting anelasticized open end of the skirt and terminating the same about the body of the weaner in the waist reg-ion.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a garment having a floating-hem line which is achieved by inwardly intussuscepting the open end of the skirt and tucking same under 'the underclothes of the wearer. Y

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a garment having a floating hem line which is inexpensive to manufacture, capable of assuming a plurality of styles, pleasing in appearance, easily iitted to the contour of the wearer, easy to maintain and adapted to be worn by wearers of varying heights.

y nited States Patenf f,

, 'f Pat-eate'd, Jane 12s, raso The novel featuresl which I believe to be characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the` appended claims. My invention itself, together with further objects and advantages thereof will best be under'- stood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a garment made in accordance with the present invention;'

Figure 2 shows the garment of ,Figure 1 with parts broken away; f f

Figure l3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of the broken away portion of Figure `2,; Q ,Y

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of an alternative form of the presentinvention; and t Fig'une 5 is an elevational view ofthe dresson the wearer with the skirtvturned outwardly,V and upwardly todis'pose the free end of the tubular memberfat the waist line. The skirt is Islrcnvn'broken away atthe waistline.y r Y., y 'f f Therefis'shown generally lat 10,`Figure 1,;a 'garment made n accordanceV with the present invention.' The'g'ari meut is in the form of a unitary tubular vdress 12 which has a bodice or upper portion 14, a waist region 16 dened generally by the dotted lines and a skirt portion 18.

The bodice 14 has arm openings in the areas indicated bythe'members 20 and 22 and neck opening at 24. The portions of the bodice 14 between kthe arm openings and the neck opening form shoulder strap portions of the bodice. As shown in Figure 1, dotted line -26 indicates generally one hem line for skirt 18. Elongated panel 28 lies below hem line 26 andis approximately the same length as skirt 18 so that the total length of the garment extends from the shoulders to the feet of the wearer.

Skirt 18 is provided with end opening 30 and with an external fabric surface 32 and internal fabric surface 34. In order 'to achieve the floating hem line, end opening 30 is inwardly intussuscepted, that is folded up and under, adjacent the internal surface 34 of skirt 18 as shown in Figure 2. End opening 30 terminates in waist region 16, depending upon the hem line desired by the wearer. For purposes of illustration, the hem line desired is shown at 26, Figures 1-4.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, end opening 30 is removably secured in the waist region 16 by means of elastic 36 which extends around the periphery of the end opening. The elastic 36 ts around the waist of the wearer 37 and is accordingly adjusted until the hem line desired is achieved. The elastic 36 has suicient tension to prevent elongated panel from moving out of place but yet at the same time does not adversely affect the wearer.

An alternative Vmethod of removably securing end opening 30 in waist region 16 is shown in Figure 4. End opening 30 is tucked under the upper lip 36 of girdle 38 worn by the wearer 37. The'extent of the tuck is dependent upon the height of the wearer and the length of the skirt desired. rllhe girdle will insure that hem Y line Z6 will not shift by securingV end opening 30 against movement.

With the construction of the garment above described, a drless manufacturer may mass produce dresses embodying the floating hem linen without regard to initially hemmng them or cutting them different lengths. The consumer can adjust the hem line interminably and thereby easily follow iluctuations in dress fashions. Also, the dress shop is relieved ofthe chore of hemming the dress to suit the wear. Additionally, maintenance of the garment is minimal for the garment need only be hung up after washing to allow the wrinkles to fall out rather than pressed.

While I have shown and described specific embodiments of the present invention, it will, of course, be understood that other modifications and alternative construction may beused without depaItingirom-,the true spirit and scope of this invention. I"tle)r'e"fre"intend by the appended clirsto cover all"'sueh"modications and alternative constructions as fall withintheir true spirit and scope. It is contemplated that ,the.lower end of the tubular member 12in`a`y `be"r' ev'ersedand turned outwardly and upwardly sd 'as to" dispose the said"'lower"e1rd" of Jthe member at the waist 1ine'as` sho'wn--ii1' Figure 5,. by adjust-4 ing' the said free end by eitherraising or lowering it with respect to the waistlineand/ or foldi'ngthe free' end U-PQn itself 'and' by' turning the free end withY respect to the waistline different effects may be' produced.

/ What I claim' as new and` desire to secure'b'y Letters Patent'of'the United States' is: Y 1. A convertible dress comprising a tubular member of substantillyuniform width' throughoutit'slengtlr" and havingan upper body'coverin'g portion and askirt forming portion, the said`s`kirt forming portion' being approximately twice the length necessary to reach to a position below the knees of the wearer, the lower end of theY said tubular `member being provided with a constrieting means whereby the said lower end may beupturned to a posi-7 tion adjacent the waist 'of the wearer, and permitthe adjustment of .the said skirt portion to form a floating hemline, anden'able the said constricting meansto be adjusted circumferentially otthewa'ist of the wearer to present varying effects.

2.' A convertible*dresscomprisingv a tubular member of substantially uniform width throughout its length and having an upper body covering portion and a skirt forming portion, the said skirt forming portion being approximately twice the length necessary to reach to a position below the knees of the wearer, the lower end of the said tubular member being provided with a constricting means,

said constrieting. rr'i'ea'ns,ineludinga-V circumferentiat'A elastic member whereby the said lower end may be upturned to a positionadjacent the waistv ofthe wearer, and permit the adjustment of the said skirt portion to' form a oating hemline, and 'enable thezsaid constricting means to be adjusted circumferentially of the waist of the wearer to present varying effects.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS'- 982,878 Rowland Jan; 3'1, 1911 1,554,684 Muly Sept.- 22, 1925 2,216,852/ McMeekin Oct. 8; 1940 2,420,344 Alexander MayA 13,l 1947 2,798,224 Jennings July 9,- 1957 

